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Waikato Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2263, 11 January 1887, Page 2

The rustic bridge in the Cambridge domain sadly needs repairing. If it is not dunu the coroner will soon be paying Cambridge a visit. A special meeting of the Cambridge Borough Council is to be held at 2.30 p.m. this afternoon, re the borrowing question. i A man named Mills, alias " Lanky" was charged with drunkeness at the Hamilton Police Court yesterday, before Mr John Knox, J.P., and dealt with in the same manner. The season at Te Aroha is a very prosperous one. The hotels have been crammed for .some time past, and numerous applications by wire for accommodation have to be refused. The tender of G-- Gapes, Te Aroha, has been accepted for the painting of the fence at S. Peter's Parsonage, Hamilton. The price (labour only) is £2 10s. Two other tenders were received, amounting to £3 and £3 ss, respectively. A Fancy Dress Ball will be held in the Oddfellows' Hall, Hamiltan, tonight. We are requested to state that those who have received invitations csn obtain tickets from the members of the committee or at Mr R. F. Sandes' shop. Subscriptions are cormng in freely in aid of the prize fund for the swimming matches to be held at Hamilton on the 29th inst., Anniversary Day. It is a great pity that a boat race or two could not bo added to the programme. A full programme appears in another column. The utility of the beautiful shade trees growing on either side of Grey-street, Hamilton East, has been strikingly demonstrated durirjg the present spell of hot dry weather. TliiS members of the old East Town Board were wiset- in their generation than their brethern on the West side of the river. We are glad to learn that for the public bath* at Hamilton totwra piles and railings are to be instead of kauri, a? was spoken of. Yesterday ilr Booth, the contractor, made arrangements for the supplying of the piles, &c.. with ,tho W-C. and S. Company, and the material will be delivered next week, MrE. L. Smith, of Hamilton is the successful tenderer for enlarging the Union Bank, Hamilton. The additions will make the building one of the most imposing in Hamilton, and will largely increase_ the dwelling accomodation. The following is the list of tenders received :— 4ustin Williams, £337 Gs; Chappell and Son, £207 4s 8d; Raljth Gracie, £244;

Henry Carter, £237 ! liogan and Morse, £233; E. L. Smith, 62015 13s (accepted), A. McLeod, £l(i6. At a Nationalist meeting held at Youghal, in the County of Cork, on the 17th November, the most prominent place was given to an Irish-American priost, . who wound np a furious harangue with these sentences : —" The present English atrocites in Ireland ■ are greater crimes against God, humanity and civilisation than the use of dynamite or political assassination to put an end to them. If England and the landlords did the same things in America, and would despise our appeals for justice, we would, if we could, pelt them, not only with dynamite, but with the lightnings of Heaven and the tires of hell, till every British bulldog, wh >lp and cur, would be pulverised and mado top-dressing for the soil." Oh scissors ! Mr William Semmsns of Taot <>' oa, met with a very nasty accident at U.unoridge on Saturday last. He attended Messrs Hunter's sale and afterwards called at Mr Boyce's shop, and then proceeded ho newards. When opposite the post, oihea his horse trod upon a loose stone and fell, throwing the rider, whose one foot was unfortunately held fast by the stirrup. In this condition he was dragged a considerable distance in a circle, the horse frequently treading upon him and kicking him before he could extricate his foot. He was assisted to Mr Boyce's. and Dr. Cushney was quickly in attendance and examined him. No bones were broken, but he was severely shaken and bruised, and had received a very nasty cut on the face. After his wounds had been attended he was able to be taken home in a buggy. Mr Arthur Bach, of the Criterion Hotel, Cambridge, when in Auckland during the late Christmas holidays, bought a new American buggy. He drove it out for the first time on Sunday last, and unfortunately it came to grief. Mr E. L. Smith of Hamilton, drove over to Cambridge, and wishing to see Mr T. B. Lewis, Mr Bach drove him out to Salthurst, whore that gentleman resides. The horse and buggy were left in the garden, and something startling the horse, it bolted. Passing through the gate one of the wheels caught the post, and no doubt added to the fright of the horse. It dashed up Princes-street and over the railway crossing into the Victoria road, where the buggy upset, and Mr Edward Lawson was enabled to catch hold of the horse before it could make a fresh start. The horse was very little the worse for the escapade, but the buggy was minus a few spokes and the splashboard. We learn the horse had not been in harness for a year, and is a high mettled one.

At the dinner of the Educational Institute, Wellington, on Friday night, Sir R. Stout explained the position of the Government with reference to education: (1) They had to meet decreasing revenue, and must, if the present educational system was to be retained intact, take care not to create additional enemies to the system, especially by increasing the cost very much. He was glad to state that the Government saw its way to the establishment of a University College at Wellington. He helieved it would not involve much increase in expenditure, because it would utilise the museum and scientific department already in Wellington. Referring to school [standards, he said they were a safeguard for the teacher who knew what his inspector would examine on, and the instructions he had to follow, and in case of failure, the teacher had no appeal. He did not deny there was great danger in the multiplicity of subjects. He said all along that the syllabus was only meant as a guide to a judicious teacher and the inspector. While uot considering it the duty of the State to teach religion in schools, he sympathised with those who urged that morality should be taught. At the same time, he admitted that no one could go through our text book without finding moral teaching. He had heard it said that some children were wanting in reverence ; perhaps that meant that some boy had been "cheeky" to the parsons who complained. If, however, children had reverence for truth, every other kind of reverence worth having would follow. That there has been a great revival in the American iron and steel trade is abundantly evidenoed by statistics recently issued. These statistics show the imports of iron and stepl into the United States for the eight months ending August last. The imports of iron ore amounted to 715,667 tons, as comoared with 257,994 tons in 1885; pig iron, 262,967 tons as compared with 94,430 tons; iron scrap, 49,812 tons, as compared with 8.664 tons ; steel rails", 14,232 tons, as compared with 1,853 tons ; steel ingots, billets, bars, etc., 64 974 tons, as compared with 14,966 torn; tin plates, 190,433 tons, as compared with 162,434 tons; and wire rods, 96,586 tons, as compared with 54,131 tons last year. There was a marked increase in the imports of of every description except cotton ties. It is believed, however, that the figures for September and October will, when published, show a still larger increase in comparison with the preceding months. According to the Iron Age of New York, the figures published fail to convey an idea of the magnitude of the American purchases of foreign iron and steel made thus far during the present year. A good deal of iron and steel contracted for is still afloat. The most active months for the purchases of steel rails were August and September, and only a small quantity of these purchases was received in America before the latter month. It is expected that the increasing firmness of American pig iron prices may induce larger shipments of Scotch pig iron than usual.

In an article upon the town and port of Batoum, the Moscow Gazette states that its abolition as a free port by the Czar a few months aero created a great sensation. The growth of Batoum since it was declared a free port in "1878 has been immense. Nearly all the Turkish inhabitants migrated to Trebizond in 1878, leaving behind only a small population of 3,000 souls, which has since increased to 10,000. The Greek ele?nent preponderates, though there are also a la,rge number of Armenians. The Russians are a very small minority. Batoum, from being a purely Asiatictown, has now become quasi-Euro-pean. The central meeting - place for transacting business is a cafe facing the sea. The conversation there is limited to Turkish affairs; Turkish coffee is the only beverage, and nothing is smoked but Turkish tobacco. Gambling goes on in the open air, and tables for playing games of hazard extend along the footpath. It is believed that, despite all difficulties, the future of Batoum i 8 assured as well by the superiority of its harbour as by its geographical position. It is the best port of the Black Sea; it has a depth of water close to the shore of from 30 to 50 fathoms; and its area would accommodate 15 war vessels, without counting a vast number of merchantmen. Batoum, further, forms the outlet to a railway, 800 versts in length, connecting two seas, and transporting goods not only from Baku and Tiflis, but from Transcaspian territory. The Krasnovodsk-Merv line will supply it with considerable quantities of cotton and silk for transportation. Persian wheat is 'already carried thither in large quantities, along with naphtha front) Baku. There is ft question of constructing a caijal frorp the latter town. It is regarded as probable that the whole trade of the decaying town of Puti will pass over to Batoum, which will also offer advantages to settlers when •its marshes have been drained.

Signor Costanzo Stella, who was one of the deputation which visited Spain last summer, has published a very interesting notice pf his journey, and in it he quotes some figures whicl) §})p\y that Spain, although very backward as compared witty some nations, has made great progress since the beginning of the century. "In 1799," he says, "the population of Spain scarcely reached ten millions, but at the end of 1882 it exceeded J.B millions, this being tantamount to an increase of 840 per 1,000 inhabitants every year. The asrricnitnnil population, which was onlv 3,015,000 85 years ago, is now 9,328,000. and the ami under cultivation has increas ;d fro in 53,000 000 to 193.750.000 acres, while there a e new 38,000,000 head of cattle as against just half that number at the beginning <;f the century. The industrial population or Spain has i-jsen fron 1,035,000 to 3.035.000, and the mi-ober of manufactories, &c., from 883 to 13,911. The trade of the country has increased in proportion, the progress during the last 25 years being particularly remarkable, as, while the imports and exports together amounted to only £25,800,000 in 18GQ, they hayp fyeen gradually increasing, and nqw reach £50,000,00 P.. The increase extends to all branches of trade, for while Spain now produces 401,25(5,000 gallons of wine, of which about two-thirds are consumed in the country and the remainder is exported, her railway system, which but five years ago did not rrach 4200 miles, is now not far short of 0000 miles.